Final Boxscore (pdf)

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The North Florida dropped a hard fought Atlantic Sun Conference match against FGCU, 3-1 (25-15, 25-15, 15-25, 25-22), Friday night at Alico Arena.

The Ospreys slipped to 19-7 and 3-6 in the Atlantic Sun following a second loss of the season to the conference leading Eagles (19-7, 8-1).

Courtney Miller led the UNF offense finishing with 16 kills, while Katarina Raicevic also tallied double digit kills with 10. Morgan Van Alstine added nine kills and hit a team best .571 for the match. Kimberly Ferguson paced the Osprey defensive effort notching 16 digs.

FGCU saw three players collect double figure kills led by 17 from Amanda Carroll, who also finished with 16 digs for a double-double in the match. Vanessa Benke led all players recording 22 digs in the contest.

The Eagles jumped out quickly in the first set staking themselves to an 8-1 lead. Following a UNF timeout, the lead extended to double digits and stayed there with FGCU earning a 25-15 decision in the opening frame.

Another fast start aided the Eagles in the second set, as the Ospreys trailed 15-3 midway through play. UNF would use a 6-3 run to draw an FGCU timeout at 18-9, but the Eagles settled down and grabbed a 2-0 match lead with a second, 25-15, set victory.

Following the break, North Florida flipped the script by moving in front 6-2 to start the third set. The Ospreys used a pair of four-point runs to widen their lead and closed out the set with back-to-back kills from Miller and Van Alstine to earn the 25-15 win.

FGCU surged ahead early in set four only to see the Ospreys battle back to force several tie scores. With the set knotted at 16-16, the Eagles built a slim advantage after scoring six of the next nine points. UNF trimmed the deficit to two, 23-21, before FGCU was able to close out the set, 25-22, and the match.

North Florida continues its current four-match road swing Saturday at 3 p.m., when the Ospreys meet Stetson in the Edmunds Center.